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Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Floppy Show

Most of you will have never heard of this as I think it was just a local Iowa thing, but when I was 5 my best friend (whose name I can't remember now, how SAD is that?) had her birthday party on the Floppy Show.

Think about it. Your 5 (or 6) and your birthday party is on TV. Major coolness.

Anyhoo...

The Floppy show was hosted by Duane Ellett and his dog-in-a-box Floppy. He would have 20 or so kids in the studio and talk to them between cartoon clips.

Here's a snippet (the only one I could find...it's been off the air for 20+ years), if you're curious (hope this works):

During one segment, kids would line up to tell Floppy a joke (and beep his nose). An assistant came around during commercial break asking if we had a joke to tell. Like: Why did the man throw the clock out the window? Because he wanted to see time fly. (har har har)

and Why did the man put his dog in the oven. He wanted a hot dog.

You get the idea.(I found a whole facebook post devoted to Floppy jokes. Give 'em a try if you like corny kid jokes!)

Anyway, I refused to get in line to tell Floppy a joke. She asked me several times, and I think I might have been the only one who didn't.

I wasn't being shy or anything, I just refused to go on TV telling the same lame jokes every other kid had been telling for years.

So my family who was clustered around the TV at home was disappointed and didn't get my desire to be ORIGINAL and UNIQUE and MEMORABLE.

And that curse is with me still today. Sometimes it works in my favor, and hopefully it will set my writing apart so I can get published someday.

But it also means I miss out on things because I'm too stubborn to change or settle for something less.

I could turn this into a writing message about being true to your voice, or some such--but I'm not. It was just an excuse for me to go down memory lane and share the Floppy clip I ran across this weekend.

Have you ever been on TV or in the papers? (Ahem, in a good way. If there was a story about you robbing the liquor store or running over old ladies for points, please feel free NOT to mention it.)

17 comments:

On TV for horse riding stuff a LONG time ago. My husband is in the paper all the time because he's a prosecutor. Let me just say that EVERY time he's in the paper, they mess up something. The name, the place, some of the facts... It's crazy.

Oh I love that clip! So cute :) and I don't you should ever settle (even if it takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get it right). I was on the news after The Hutt Recreational Centre burnt to the ground on the day we were looking after kids in a holiday programme in the facility - was one hell of a fire!

Sounds like a cute show. We had a show on a local channel (back when there were only 3) that featured a guy with a horse. I can't for the life of me remember his name. The show would visit area towns and kids got a chance to sit on the horse and throw a ball for a silver dollar. Enjoyed your post, it's fun going down memory lane sometimes.

I'm proud of your little 5 year old stand for solidarity! And yes. I'm embarrassed to say I was on the local news as a runway model dressed as a Cowgirl, even tipped my hat and all to the camera!!*blushing* I would do anything to have that clip now!I would howl at myself fo sure :)

Wow, that show reminds me of when I was little. I was on a show as a Blue Bird (kind of like girl scouts). It showed cartoons and had a captain of a boat hosting it. I wish I could remember what it was called. =)

you know, i think creative integrity is wonderful... but it can be really stilting. one of the biggest reasons i stopped writing and drawing for YEARS was the feeling that what i was doing wasn't good enough. i thought i had to be the best, most original, super whatever to be any good. it took me a long time to realize that all we can be is OUR best, our most original... i just kinda feel like life is too short to miss out on opportunities now, you know.i've never been on tv, but i was (possibly) an extra for the movie Rookie of the Year... i was in the audience at Wrigley Field for filming for those massive crowd shots... so maybe? :)

Haven't you seen my mug shot? Seriously, I was in Ocean City, MD on my honeymoon, and there was a debate going on about whether to make it smoke-free. When we were walking on the boardwalk, a reporter and camera person came over and asked our opinion. I stuttered out a stupid answer. Later, I was soooo happy they didn't use it! Yeah, that's my brush with fame.

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I don't have a schedule. I post whenever I have something to say or share. I try to get to as many blogs as I can, but that's never as many as I'd like. You can contact me directly at:
MissVSpeaks(at)gmail(dot)com.